Pictured L-R at the BPA State Conference are: Darin Cuevas placed tenth in Keyboard Prodution, Tara Liska, Zeliene Brown will advance to the National competition by placing second in Medical Office Procedures, Sarah Crawford, Shelby James placed seventh in Extemporaneous Speech, and Katelyn Keach also received a seventh place finish in Prepared Speech. Zeliene and Mrs. Moore will attend the BPA National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida on May 8-12.

“Uncover Your Magic” is the national BPA theme this year, and for BPA students at George West High School, this began by selecting an event to compete in that enhanced their skills and interests. What took place next was not a result of magic but that of hard work and hours of practice.

These students spent many hours practicing with Mrs. Flo Moore, GWHS Business Education teacher and BPA advisor and coach and also on their own to ensure that they were prepared for the Regional Conference that was held at Gregory-Portland High School on Jan. 19, which was the qualifying meet for the BPA State Conference.

Six students placed high enough at Regionals to advance to state and recently spent a busy three days at the Business Professionals of America State Leadership Conference in Houston. The students left for Houston on the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 27. Thursday morning began with attendance at the opening session, and then the competitions began and continued through Saturday.

Students who competed in graded events had no idea if they were in the top eight until the Awards Ceremony Saturday night. However, students in speaking events knew if they were in the top two in their preliminary rounds and advanced to Finals. Katelyn Keach in Extemporaneous Speech and Shelby James in Prepared Speech each advanced to the finals in their respective events and competed in a second round of competitions.

After much suspense, it was learned that Zeliene Brown placed second in Medical Office Procedures and advanced to nationals for the second year in a row in this event. Katelyn Keach placed seventh in Extemporaneous Speech, Shelby James placed seventh in Prepared Speech, and Darin Cuevas placed tenth in Keyboarding Production. Other students attending were Tara Liska and Sarah Crawford.

Zeliene and Mrs. Moore will attend the BPA National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida, May 8-12.